Today in the MHSAA: 10/14/15

October 14, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

With Lower Peninsula golf and tennis heading into the MHSAA Finals this weekend, it’s cross country, soccer and volleyball teams’ turns to claim league championships.

Cross Country

Lower Peninsula Division 3 No. 5 Shepherd won its sixth straight Tri-Valley Conference Central girls championship with the top four finishers at the final league jamboree – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Boys Soccer

Hillsdale Academy won the Hillsdale Cup and clinched a league title with a shootout win over Hillsdale High – Hillsdale Daily News

Division 2 No. 6 Spring Lake and No. 9 Fruitport will split the Lakes 8 Conference title thanks to the former’s 4-1 victory over Division 3 No. 11 Ludington on Tuesday – Muskegon Chronicle

Girls Swimming and Diving

LP Division 1 No. 6 Brighton opened its new pool by handing honorable mention Grand Blanc its first loss this season – Livingston Daily

Volleyball

Lake Odessa Lakewood, No. 7 in Class B, stayed undefeated in Greater Lansing Activities Conference play with a three-set win over Class D No. 5 Lansing Christian – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

Class B No. 7 Chelsea clinched its second straight Southeastern Conference White championship with a sweep of Tecumseh – AnnArbor.com

West Bloomfield unseated two-time reigning champion Farmington Hills Harrison in the Oakland Activities Association White, coming back from a first-set loss to claim the deciding match – Oakland Press

Ortonville-Brandon continued a 13-3 run coming off a 3-7 start this fall with a 3-1 win over Flushing – Flint Journal

Good Reads

The MHSAA Finals preview of Port Huron-area boys tennis teams kicks off with a look at 50-year Armada coach Dave Fredette – Port Huron Times-Herald

The origins of the unique Ann Arbor Huron River Rat mascot are tough to lock down, but this report looks at a few theories – AnnArbor.com

Today in the MHSAA: 4/18/16

April 18, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A week after snow still covered much of the Lower Peninsula, teams on both sides of the bridge got outside to get their seasons rolling – with much of most notable weekend action coming in softball, soccer and tennis.

Girls Soccer

Cadillac shut out Holland Black River and Holland and played Grand Rapids Northview to a 0-0 tie in winning the Holland Invitational on Saturday – Cadillac News

Softball

Spring Lake won the Lakeshore Grand Slam in Stevenson by downing reigning Division 2 champion Wayland 5-4 on the way to the title – Grand Haven Tribune

Melissa Wegener clubbed a seventh-inning home run as part of a five-run rally to help Bay City Western over rival Bay City Central 7-4 in the final of the Bay County Softball Championships – Bay City Times

From Thursday, Emily Dragonetti threw a no-hitter against Charlotte that was her school’s first in at least 14 seasons – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Also from Thursday, Dowagiac’s Taylor Hulett and Megan Soderbloom threw back-to-back no-hitters against Sturgis while striking out a combined 21 batters – Niles Daily Star

Girls Tennis

Battle Creek Lakeview won six flight championships in claiming the overall Battle Creek All-City title – Battle Creek Enquirer

From Wednesday, Division 2 top-ranked Bloomfield Hills Marian and Division 3 No. 2 Detroit Country Day tied 4-4 with Country Day winning all four singles matches and Marian sweeping doubles – Oakland Press

Good Read

Eric Marcil as a student convinced the Muskegon Reeths-Puffer district to create a soccer program, and the 1992 alum came back to coach both the girls and boys teams before his death at 25 after a fight against lymphoma. The school’s field was renamed to honor him Thursday – Muskegon Chronicle